Terry McMillan: From Waiting to Exhale to Getting to Happy

Back in the early 90s, Terry McMillan was just another author trying to make it. Then, came a little book called Waiting to Exhale. McMillan’s novel about four single women and their love lives helped birth a new genre of African-American fiction and became a hit film.

Now, over 15 years later, McMillan has released the sequel, Getting to Happy. But she said she never intended to revisit Savannah, Bernie, Gloria, or Robin — in fact, she wasn’t that in love with them in the first place.

“After Waiting to Exhale, I think that book never even crossed my mind when I was telling new stories. And, even with [Getting to Happy], I thought about [the characters] a lot differently,” McMillan said in our Media Beat interview. “I thought they were somewhat… They got on my nerves. I thought that they were a little desperate.”

Watch the full video to hear more of McMillan’s inspiration for Getting to Happy and to find out which segment of Black fiction she is not a fan of.

Part 2: Terry McMillan Puts the ‘Ugliness’ of Divorce Behind Her

Part 3: Terry McMillan’s Advice to Young Authors: ‘Focus on Your Stories, Not the Fame’

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.